A botanist,mycorrhiza and a knighthood |
| |
| Authors: | Ramesh Maheshwari |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Institute of Plant, Animal and Agroecosystem Sciences, ETH Zurich, Eschikon 33, 8315 Lindau, Switzerland;(2) Department of Forest Mycology and Pathology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden;(3) Microbial Ecology, Department of Ecology, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden;(4) School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Waite Campus DX 650 636, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia |
| |
| Abstract: | Most plants are attached via their roots to specialized fungi. The filamentous hyphae of these fungi extend beyond the nutrient-depleted
zone in the soil, absorbing and supplying nutrients to the plants in exchange for photosynthetically-made carbon compounds
manufactured by the plant. The hyphae also attach to litter and decompose the organic matter, releasing the mineral ions sequestered
in the structural polymers. The mineral ions are absorbed and translocated to the roots. Most plants are so dependent on their
fungal partners for supplying nutrients that they languish or die without them. Our understanding of this fascinating interaction,
to a large extent, has come from the pioneering work of Sir David J Read, FRS, Emeritus Professor of Plant Sciences at the
University of Sheffield, UK.
Ramesh Maheshwari is a former Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Banglaore.
This is his sixth article for Resonance. |
| |
| Keywords: | Micorrhiza plant-fungus association |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
